Common Resources

What Do State Renewable Portfolio Standards Mean for Carbon Intensity?

In the last two decades, 31 states have passed renewable portfolio standards (RPS) into law that are aimed at increasing the portion of state energy that is sourced from renewable, typically non-carbon-emitting, resources. In many states, such standards were not explicitly meant to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, although given the energy sources they promote […]

Identifying “Known Unknowns” in the Natural Gas Revolution

Last week, my colleagues and I released a new RFF report, The Natural Gas Revolution: Critical Questions for a Sustainable Energy Future. At one point, I began referring to this document as the “Known Unknowns” report, in reference to a widely quoted Donald Rumsfeld speech. As the former secretary of defense noted, there are certain […]

Valuing Conservation in the Context of Climate Change

In the twentieth century, flooding caused more deaths and property damage in the United States than any other natural disaster. Most climate models predict that flooding will worsen in the future, a prospect that is leading a growing number of communities to explore the use of natural areas as protection against extreme events. These areas […]

The UK, Fracking, and Mineral Rights

In an editorial, the Economist this week argues that “if Britain wants an American-style energy boom, it should import American-style local taxation.” In short, they argue that differences in public opinion toward fracking are driven by differences in how the benefits of development are distributed. In the UK (and most other European countries), subsurface mineral […]

Climate Policy in California: What It Means for the State and Beyond

I recently testified before a California Senate Select Committee on the state’s climate policies about California’s interactions in the development of policy across the country and internationally. I highlighted the four main points below in my remarks, and you can read the full testimony here. California is not alone. It is joined by many other […]

Fracking on Federal Lands: Stewards, not Regulators

Last week, the Bureau of Land Management proposed new rules for oil and gas fracking on federal lands. Some industry critics immediately attacked the proposal, arguing not that it was too strict, but that it shouldn’t exist at all. These arguments miss the mark. (Side note: We have not yet digested the package of rules, so […]

US Shale Gas Development in Review

The United States has seen rapid recent development of shale gas. What are the factors behind the notable growth in the past decade? And what does it mean for shale gas development elsewhere in the world? Alan Krupnick and I examine the history of the US shale gas boom in a new RFF discussion paper. […]

Aligning Carbon Markets: The Case of California and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Incrementally aligning policies in distinct carbon markets—linking by degrees—can allow programs to experience immediate benefits of sharing best practices in program design. Together with colleagues at RFF and Yale, we’ve examined the details and prospects for the cap-and-trade programs in California and the Northeast. Read more here.

The Washington Post on California’s Cap and Trade Program

Just before the new year, the Washington Post ran a surprisingly conflicted editorial on California’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. It endorsed the use of pricing as the most efficient approach to regulate carbon, suggested that it might be ineffective anyway because California is initially acting alone, and expressed criticism because California is not doing more […]

While International Climate Negotiations Continue, the World’s Ninth Largest Economy Takes an Important Step Forward

This post originally appeared on Robert Stavins’s blog, An Economic View of the Environment. A little more than two weeks ago, while some 195 nations prepared to meet in Doha, Qatar, for the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in an ongoing effort to hammer […]